FTC extends comment period for proposed rule on noncompete clauses

The Federal Trade Commission yesterday extended until April 19 the comment deadline for its proposal to ban contractual terms that prohibit workers from pursuing certain employment after their contract with an employer ends. AHA and others had urged the agency to extend the original March 20 deadline by 60 days. The AHA encourages members to submit comments before the April 19 deadline. 

The AHA already submitted its detailed comments last month. It urged the FTC to withdraw the rule or exempt the hospital field, or at least doctors and senior hospital executives. 

“The proposed regulation errs by seeking to create a one-size-fits-all rule for all employees across all industries, especially because Congress has not granted the FTC the authority to act in such a sweeping manner,” AHA wrote. “Even if the FTC had the legal authority to issue this proposed rule, now is not the time to upend the health care labor markets with a rule like this.”